Soon.
Reilo returned to the tower of the Corleon Biological Specimen Academy through the altar.
Aside from ending the estrangement between himself and Mentor Gubo, his trip to the Corleon Biological Specimen Academy had brought Lola and Tianci back with him. He had also unexpectedly met Lola's real father and learned the secret of her birth.
However.
After thinking it over carefully, Reilo decided not to tell Lola.
Her father was a battle-loving man who seemed half-mad. He must have known he couldn't give Lola a better life, which was why he hadn't barged into hers—and why he'd contacted Reilo alone and in secret.
Come to think of it, this was practically a tradition among the nobles of the old Grand Duchy.
From princes of the royal family to barons and knights, anyone who hadn't left behind a couple of romantic entanglements and one or two illegitimate children was hardly living up to his noble status. And when they talked among themselves, they seemed rather proud of it.
"What's wrong?"
Lola was with Tianci. Seeing Reilo approach with a troubled look, she asked with concern.
Reilo scooped Tianci up and nuzzled the little one through his mask before shaking his head. "It's nothing. Things didn't go too smoothly, that's all."
As if it were some trivial matter, he said no more and headed toward the Air Port with Lola and Tianci.
The family of three was perfectly happy together.
As passersby looked on enviously, Reilo bought Tianci a few little toys along the way. Then they boarded a balloon airship bound for the Grand Natural Sciences Academy.
Two months later.
Lola's secret garden laboratory.
Reilo stood in a hidden spot, watching Ankalev lead a group of academy envoys on a tour of the construction of the third-generation Energy Source.